The ever-present risk of data loss has increased as ransomware has become more sophisticated. Much debate surrounding the tussle against it focuses on preventative measures and emergency responses. Still, detecting ransomware is crucial to protecting your company from attack. So, if you are looking for top-notch data protection & backup services in Roanoke, then CMIT solutions is your best bet.
Hackers use misdirection and techniques to thwart detection. With new ransomware versions appearing daily companies should employ various ransomware detection methods, keeping in mind the benefits and drawbacks of each.
Here, we explain ransomware and outline methods for identifying and counteracting this threat.
Ransomware is malicious software used to encrypt or lock out data in personal or corporate IT environments. The intent behind ransomware attacks is to demand payment from the victim to decrypt the data.
How Can Ransomware Be Detected?
The first line of defense against ransomware and other forms of malicious software is detection. When a computer is infected with ransomware, it hides until files are encrypted and blocked. Victims often don’t realize they’ve been infected with malware until after they obtain the ransom note. Earlier detection of ransomware infections allows victims to take measures to mitigate any permanent damage.
Automatically alerting users upon detecting anomalous behavior is how ransomware detection works. Getting a warning about a virus helps users stop it before it can encrypt any essential files. They need to disconnect the infected machine from the network, delete the ransomware, and then reinstate the machine from a backup.
How Does Ransomware Infect Your Systems?
Best practices for preventing malware distribution can protect your company’s IT infrastructure. That way, you can figure out how to quickly identify ransomware in the components of your systems and which parts of your system are the most at risk.
There is no shortage of ways in which ransomware can infect your business. However, the most common forms of malware are as follows:
Threatening emails contain malware and try to get the recipient to open an attached file or click on a link.
Ransomware distribution networks are malicious websites that trick users into visiting their sites and downloading and installing the ransomware.
As a result of their widespread acceptance and widespread use, social media are frequently trusted as credible sources of information. Malicious software is often disseminated via downloads, malicious ads, malicious plugins, and links shared via social media.
The term “malvertising” refers to malicious advertisements that are posted online. If you visit a malicious website and click on a link that appears to be safe, you may unknowingly download malware onto your computer.
Infected mobile apps are used to carry out ransomware attacks. Malware can infect your phone in a matter of seconds. If you download one of these apps, it can travel to your desktop when you sync your phone and computer.
When an attack is detected quickly, data security is improved. You can use a collection of tools and methods that help reveal malicious files and suspicious activities to spot ransomware that is trying to intrude or is already hindering your IT environment. IT professionals recognize the following categories of detection methods:
Detecting Malware Signatures
Binary hashes of ransomware are compared to known malware signatures to detect it via signature-based detection. Domain names, Internet Protocol addresses, and other identifiers form the malware’s signature. In signature-based detection, these signatures are compared to currently running files on a system to identify malicious software. This is the simplest way to look for malware, but it doesn’t always work.
Capturing information from executables allows security systems & antivirus software to determine whether or not they are ransomware. Most up-to-date antivirus products can recognize common ransomware strains during routine malware scanning.
Detection software that uses signatures to identify ransomware is an essential first line of protection. It’s helpful in finding recognized threats, but it can’t always spot new forms of ransomware. Malicious actors also frequently alter and update their malware files to evade detection. Changing even a single byte in file results in a different hash, making it more difficult to detect malware.
Attackers using ransomware can modify their malware to include different signatures with each successful attack. This opens up computers to every new form of malware. Malware detection systems that rely on signatures are limited in spotting new threats.
Identifying Abnormal System Behavior
The ransomware program opens a large number of files and then replaces them all with encrypted versions. Experts and automated tools keep an eye on what’s happening in the environment to detect warning signs like file system changes, unusual traffic, unknown processes, and API calls.
Observe and remember the following behavior patterns when checking for ransomware attack attempts:
- Decreased performance: If the components of your IT infrastructure are running more slowly than usual, you may be experiencing the effects of a ransomware attack.
- Persistent suspicious login activities: If someone is attempting to gain unauthorized entry to your company’s IT systems, they will likely try to do so by logging in repeatedly but unsuccessfully to various accounts from various locations and devices.
- Unauthorized Network Scanners: Investigate suspicious network scanning activity when you cannot determine the origin or purpose of the scan. Before deploying a full attack, hackers may conduct a series of test attacks. They target a small subset of nodes to gauge the organization’s protection system’s resilience and reaction time.
- Disabled or uninstalled antivirus software: Even a temporary failure in the defenses leaves a door open for ransomware to enter, so no outage is to be ignored.
- Encrypt data on nodes: If hackers can encrypt data successfully on even a single node in your system, it is a clear sign that your IT security has been compromised.
- Identification of standard hacking tools: If you find software like Microsoft Process Explorer in your company’s ecosystem, you should conduct a thorough security audit of every node. To try to corrupt a backup is a warning sign of a ransomware attack, whether the backups are stored on local hard drives or in the cloud.
Detecting Unusual Foot Traffic
Detecting abnormal traffic is a network-level extension of behavior-based detection. More complex ransomware attacks encrypt data for ransom and steal data beforehand to use as leverage. This results in massive information exchanges with other networks.
If the algorithm determines that the file system is under attack from ransomware, it will lock down the system and prevent further access to the files. This method outperforms signature-based solutions in preventing and detecting ransomware attacks, and it can even spot ransomware variants without having to decipher their malware signature. False positives are a significant drawback of this method. Protective software often prevents users from accessing or modifying legitimate files and data operations, which can cause costly downtime and reduce productivity.
Recognizing Through Deception
IT security experts have devised methods to lure in cybercriminals like hackers who routinely try to fool a company’s digital threat detection systems. Honeypots are a common type of bait. They consist of a server or other area within an organization’s IT infrastructure that contains information that certainly appears to have actual worth to hackers. This space, however, is separate from the rest of the site and can be used to track and study attacks.
This Is It!
You can take precautions against the rising risk of ransomware, which can cost your company billions annually. Protecting your private data from hackers requires early detection methods and a solid plan. Opting for data protection & backup services from CMIT Solutions, Roanoke, will help you achieve timely detection of ransomware. Give us a call right away!
